Back Alley Food; does presentation really matters?

Back alley food, a rarity in Singapore. The closest possible eateries in alley ways that we have, are the cafes we see along the alley ways of the infamous Haji Lane Cafe area. You can even check out our Singapore Cafe Guide, for the various cafes in the different areas of Singapore; from north, south, east to west, we got it covered!

Over at Malacca, back alley eateries is the way to go; the back alley restaurants racks up a long queue. Even with a light drizzle, the queue stays strong, in fact you can see patrons holding up their umbrellas whilst they eat. The long queue can be seen from the start, to the end of the alley way.

Also, for a restaurant with makeshift shelters, with long tables and low benches; it has garnered the attention of reality food shows. A banner of the recognition can be seen outside of the restaurant.

The restaurant, is evidently family run; a rarity in the current Food and Beverage sector in Singapore. Even amongst the few family restaurants we have, the waitressing, and service crew are usually workers the restaurant employs. While the back alley’s service “staff” are the young children of the restaurant owner.

Local specialty, with a strong sense of family warmth and hospitality are perhaps what draws customers over to these conspicuous looking back alley restaurants. Does the looks, and location of a restaurant really matters? Would a similar business model, be adopted and welcomed in Singapore’s Food and Beverage sector? Let us know what you think.